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Liaoyang Shi Hospital
Liaoyang, Liaoning, China
In the courtyard of the modern Liaoyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a quiet two-story structure of green bricks stands under a heavy, sweeping Chinese-style roof. This is the surviving main building of the Liaoyang Shi Hospital, constructed around 1890. Its walls preserve a unique architectural dialogue: early Western builders laid these local green bricks using the English bond method, a technique rarely seen in this region.
The building originated in 1887 when Dr. A. M. Westwater, a Scottish missionary physician sent by the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, purchased the site of the former Daming Temple on Dongliudao Street. He established this charitable facility, known as the "Free Healing Hall." Five years later, in 1892, he founded the Renmu Hospital nearby, a facility dedicated to women and children.
Human memory is etched into these materials. In July 1888, the Taizi River overflowed, submerging thirteen layers of the city gate's brickwork. Dr. Westwater reportedly navigated the muddy floodwaters in small boats, distributing baked wheat cakes and medicines to stranded villagers. Twelve years later, during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, fire consumed the original hospital. The current structure rose from those ashes, later rebuilt and expanded.
In August 1904, the Russo-Japanese War turned Liaoyang into a battlefield. Dr. Westwater established a local Red Cross branch here, converting the compound into a sanctuary for wounded soldiers and refugees. He opened a refuge for displaced people, providing for as many as 4,000 and treating countless civilian casualties. Grateful local merchants later presented him with a ceremonial umbrella inscribed with ten thousand names in recognition of his service.
Today, the main hospital building and the nearby priest's residence remain. Designated as a provincial-level protected cultural heritage site in 2014, the structure invites visitors to touch the cool green bricks and feel the weight of a sanctuary that once stood between warring empires.